Anan Ameri: Starting a Museum from Scratch

Dear Anan Ameri, My name is Fern Harris, an undergraduate student at Eastern Michigan University studying business management. I was led to the Michigan Innovators website by one of my professors. In listening to your recent video I was encouraged to know learn that Arab Americans are doing their part in educating the community on their history. As you state in your interview, most people associate all Arabs, American or not, with Islam and do tend to think Arabs and Islam are the same thing. Most people don’t realize that you can follow the Islamic religion and not be Arab or vice versa. Personally, I am African American and have two African American brothers that are Muslim. I am a Christian, but two of my brothers are Muslim. Talk about diversity. You also said you are using art to build bridges in the community between Arab Americans and other cultures in the community and that you will also combine the histories of other cultures with that of the Arab American community in your museum. I think this is a good idea because all cultures are linked together. It would be good to see how the Arab American community is tied historically to the different Michigan communities and cultures. One thing you mentioned in the video was that you did not have previous experience in starting or operating a museum and that this proved to be a plus because it did not hinder the creative process. I was encouraged by this because my husband and I plan on opening a K-12 grade school that will place a large emphasis on diversity training. For the most part, this venture will be new for us too. We also desire that our students be well-rounded with intercultural awareness. It was also good to hear that you and the group of professionals chosen for this museum project kept moving forward with your vision after September 11, 2001. It was exciting to hear of your courage. Sincerely, Fern Harris, Student Eastern Michigan University

Using a museum as vehicle for informing, educating, and preserving Arab American culture and history could play an instrumental role in bulldozing the prejudices and misconceptions of the public. Having grown up in the self-proclaimed diverse Utopian city of Ann Arbor, one would think these prejudices didn't exist. However, at Pioneer High School, especially after September 11, I saw incredible amounts of racial heat toward Arab American students. Oddly enough, a lot of this heat came from other racial minorities. The museum's goal of being inclusive and building world communities through cultural art programs and experiential education is one step in irradiating the racial divide. It's great the museum has a diverse catalog of programs focused on community. Museums often face challenges in the methods they choose to display information. Museums sometimes create homogenized views of the past by not accounting for matters of historical dispute and not providing alternative viewpoints. There is also a tendency to present the past in terms of a coherent, linear, and unified narrative (leaving little to contemplate), and bombarding audiences with too complex audio, visual and textual experiences, in which the observer is overwhelmingly confronted by the massive weight of information. It's difficult to present the information in an accessible manner that reaches broad audiences. Museum's have, over time, become known as stuffy and too scholarly. The Arab American National Museum's way of integrating new forms and methods of conveying information is refreshing. Is the museum set up as a nonprofit organization? How did the museum become an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and how closely does it work with this institution?